“Attention, black box!”: 15 entertaining questions from the program “What? Where? When?"

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Dust, emptiness and even a living rabbit - what has not been inside the mysterious box over the years of the game. Guess what is hidden in it this time.

– 1 –

At the end of the 19th century in England, when capturing criminals, high-ranking officials often resorted to the help of the cavalry of St. George. In the black box is one of the representatives of this cavalry. What is there?

Coin. When a monetary reward for the capture of a criminal was announced in the country, the people said: "They called for the help of the cavalry of St. George." The fact is that it was this great martyr that was depicted on the reverse side of the English sovereign.

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– 2 –

When Italy introduced the mandatory use of seat belts, the factories producing these T-shirts dramatically increased their income. Which T-shirt is in the black box?

Faux T-shirt with a stripe imitating a seat belt.

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– 3 –

"You are a Babylonian chef, a Macedonian charioteer, a Jerusalem brewer, an Alexandrian goatolup, a swineherd of Greater and Lesser Egypt, an Armenian thief, a Tatar sagaydak, a Kamenets executioner, of the whole world and a fool of the world, the grandson of the adder himself" - do you know who spewed these curses? What's in the black box?

The Zaporozhye Cossacks showered the Turkish Sultan with such curses when they wrote a response to his letter. In the black box - a reproduction of the painting by Ilya Repin "The Cossacks are writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan."

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– 4 –

In the black box lies what in ancient times was called the sweet poison of kings. There are not so many kings these days, and the sweet poison is becoming more and more. What's in the black box?

Money. Sweet because the rulers can print as many bills as they want. And poison, because the excess of money leads to inflation.

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– 5 –

The black box contains a well-known product that first appeared in Brazil in 1938. What's inside?

Instant coffee. Its mass production was put on a conveyor belt to help Brazil cope with the surplus of coffee beans, which were lost by tons due to improper processing and storage. Specialist Max Morgenthaler managed to create a powder that retained the properties of coffee beans in the drink and was stored for a long time.

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– 6 –

Do you know the invention of Jonathan Carr, invented to make children more willing to reach for knowledge? He also made the first 500 tons of what is in the black box. What is there?

Baby cookies in the form of letters of the alphabet.

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– 7 –

According to legend, the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma meditated for nine years in a cave, looking at a bare wall. One day he felt that he could no longer stay awake and fell asleep. Then Bodhidharma tore out his eyelids and threw them away. What they have become is in the black box.

Tea. Legend has it that the monk's eyelids turned into tea leaves.

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– 8 –

For the strong it is an ornament, for the weak it is a strengthening, for the fallen it is a support, and for the non-existent it is an appearance. The philosopher Voltaire spoke with such elegance about the thing fashionable in his time, which lies in a black box. What is it about?

About a corset that can decorate, strengthen, support or visually enlarge a woman's breasts.

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– 9 –

What is in the black box, monkeys of one European zoo constantly stole from visitors. Then the administration hung a warning notice on the cage with these animals. But something went wrong, and the monkeys continued to steal. What was the administration's miscalculation? What's in the black box?

The miscalculation was that the ad was written in too small print. When nearsighted visitors bent down to read the inscription "Beware, monkeys steal glasses", they were deprived of the glasses. There are glasses inside the black box.

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– 10 –

The ancient Chinese believed that it should be paper thin, shiny like a mirror, ringing like a gong, and smooth like a lake on a sunny day. What's in the black box?

Porcelain.

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– 11 –

In one black box there is something beautiful and alive, in the other - something beautiful, but dead. The dead replaced the living in 17th century Dutch homes. What's in the boxes?

Fresh flowers and still life (from the French nature morte - "dead nature").

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– 12 –

The black box contains an item that was used in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. From the outside, it looks appetizing, although it is considered completely inedible. At the same time, many people eat it several times a day and immediately apply the next portion. What is it about?

About lipstick.

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– 13 –

“He settled in that peace, Where is the village old-timer

For forty years he scolded with the housekeeper, I looked out the window and crushed the flies."

The black box contains a device with which Eugene Onegin's uncle "crushed the flies." What is inside?

Glass.

“Onegin opened the cupboards;

In one I found an expense notebook, In another, there is a whole line of liqueurs, Jugs of apple water

And the calendar of the eighth year."

In fact, Onegin's uncle did not crush any flies, he just drank, that is, he was "under the fly."

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– 14 –

In 1921, a chemist named Beau received an order from a singer named Gabrielle to conduct experiments. At first, they were unsuccessful. If you guess what the specialization of the chemist was, the name of the singer and the serial number of a successful experiment, then you can easily say what is in the black box.

Chemist specialization - perfumer, singer - Coco Chanel, serial number of successful experience - 5. In a black box - perfume Chanel No. 5.

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– 15 –

At first he was drowning in silks, then he changed into pure cotton, and now he flaunts in special paper. In the black box - an invention for the lazy merchant Thomas Sullivan. Which?

Tea bag.

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The collection questions are taken from this archive.